


Lovestarved Lungs

by universecharm



Category: We Bare Bears (TV)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-02-27
Packaged: 2019-03-24 21:38:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13819953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/universecharm/pseuds/universecharm
Summary: He really shouldn't be letting himself get dependant on another person. And yet...(Title from 'lets not talk about anything else but love' from the addams family musical)





	Lovestarved Lungs

Nom Nom was starting to hate being famous.  
  
The idea that people could just go and live their lives, stress free and stable, without having to constantly make sure they were pretending to be someone they weren't... It seemed like a siren song of freedom. The idea of going to the grocery store, getting food, going home, and cooking. The idea of buying clothes he wanted because they were comfortable and not because he had to look good. The idea that he could just...  
  
Have friends. Go to dumb game nights. Spend time with people without worrying about if everyone is using him.   
  
He wanted that.  
  
Thats what brought him to the woods, wandering through it with his paws in his hoodie pocket and his eyes behind his shades. He pulled himself into the cloth and plastic oasis and growled as he walked, one goal in mind.  
  
He had to find the Bear's cave.  
  
He knew it was the only place he could feel completely safe. He never got that anymore, always on edge, worried he'd do something wrong. Worried he'd dissappoint his manager.  
  
Worried he'd get mobbed again.  
  
About an hour before, he had been out getting food from a street taco stand he loved.  A fan had seen him and apparently made a post to the NomNomTracking official twitter, sending a hoard of fans right after him. he sprained his leg trying to run, getting deep, angry scratches along his knees from falling. He knew he had to run.   
  
He only had one place to turn.  
  
it was raining, he was shaking like a leaf, and his paws were caked with mud. He slammed his fists into their door and squeaked in surprise when it opened.  
  
Nobody spoke.  
  
Why didnt Grizz answer the door why did it have to be him why why why?!  
  
Ice bear loomed over him. Nom Nom fidgeted.  
  
"C-can I uh.. Stay here for the night?"  
  
Ice Bear hesitated before thinking about what Grizz would say if he left his friend out in the rain. He didn't need anything else to pull him inside and set him on the kitchen table, getting warm water on in the sink and bringing a towel over for the time being. Nom Nom was trying so so hard not to cry, he couldnt seem weak in front of this guy. They were practically strangers!  
  
But.  
  
He shook harder, staring at the towel in his paws and he outright sobbed, muffling his cries in the fabric.  
  
Ice Bear gently touched his back, not sure if touching him would be a comfort or not in this state, but Nom Nom leaned into his touch and he gently patted his back until he was calm.  
  
Nom Nom couldn't even look at him.  
  
There was a scuffling noise from the hallway and Nom Nom looked up to see Grizz, pulling on a rain coat and hopping around with one boot on, frantic. He caught a glimpse of Ice Bear but didn't see Nom Nom behind the towel.  
  
"Bro, I've gotta go into town right now, Noms just got mobbed and hes out there alone and I've gotta h-"  
  
He saw said koala sitting on his table and tripped, landing with a huff against the cave floor.  
  
"Oh. Hey."  
  
They stared at eachother for a while, Nom Nom hiding most of his body behind the towel. His ears twitched and he groaned, standing on the table and shaking his fur dry.  
  
"Ice Bear is going back to bed."  
  
And he did just that.  
  
Leaving Grizz and Nom Nom alone for the first time since their vacation.  
  
And it was tense.  
  
...  
  
"....Want some tea..?"  
  
Nom Nom nodded slightly and hid further into his towel. Grizz stared at him for a bit longer, an emotion in his eyes that Nom Nom couldnt identify as anything more than 'probavly pity'.  
  
He made tea.  
  
Lavender eucalyptus tea, with honey. His favorite. He knew Grizz couldnt drink it, so why did he have it around the house?  
  
Grizz handed him the cup and sat on the table next to him.  
  
Nom Nom wanted to grab onto him and not let go forever. He could feel how warm Grizz was and he wanted to hold him more than anything he had ever wanted.  
  
He let his paw grip the fur on Grizz's leg. Grizz looked up and smiled knowingly, carefully pulling him into a hug, making sure that his tea didn't spill.  
  
He was frozen for a while before practically melting into his friends arms, chirping and nuzzling his soft _soft_ fur. Grizz chuckled and picked him up, setting the tea on the table.  
  
"You want me to set up a bed for you in the living room....?"  
  
Nom Nom shook his head.  
  
"....wanna sleep in my room?"  
  
He was still.  
  
"My room it is."  
  
Grizz petted Nom Nom's back and he leaned into him, hiding his face in the crook of his neck. When he looked up again they were in Grizz's room. Cozy and warm and safe, away from eyes, away from cameras. Just the two of them.  
  
Grizz was still petting him and it was very distracting, very _very_ distracting from his thoughts, keeping them from spiraling out of control. He hummed and stretched, pressing his paws against the bed.  
  
".....Thanks. For this."  
  
Grizz smiled and cuddled closer to the koala. "No problem, Noms. That's what friends are for!"  
  
Friends.  
  
"Yeah.."  
  
Were they friends?  
  
"....do you think-..."  
  
There was a beat of silence.  
  
"What?" Grizz asked, rolling onto his side and keeping Nom Nom curled up in the space between his chest and his elbow. He noticed his friend's ear twitching, eyes pointedly avoiding his own.  
  
"Nothing.. It's dumb."  
  
Grizz pulled him closer, able to feel his heartbeat through their fur. "Not if you wanted to say it. Nothing you say is dumb."  
  
Nom Nom felt his face go warm at the sincerity behind his words, hiding himself. "...do you think we're friends...? Really?"  
  
"Well, of course we are! You're really awesome and I love you!"  
  
Nom Nom felt himself freeze up as Grizz kept talking.  
  
"Spending time with you is fun, aside from all the insane fans and stuff. But even that's fun with you, sometimes! I really like being around you. Like- like at the Corgis show! I remember how nice it was once you calmed down. You look so... _Happy_ , when you smile. Is that dumb? Not like, your camera smile, your actual smile."  
  
Nom Nom looked up at him sharply. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Like, in your videos! You smile then but now that I know you better its easy to tell you're not really happy up there. Your actual smile is waaay cuter than when you fake it. 's awesome that you trust me enough to be yourself around me."  
  
Nom Nom felt every emotion flood into him at once. ' _Am I really happy doing videos? He thinks my smile is cute? He knows me well enough to read me like that? Why don't I know him that well? I trust him? He thinks I'm actually cute and not dumb animal cute?'_  
  
He settled for humming and scooting closer against the grizzly, deep in thought.  
  
"Do you think we're friends?"  
  
He didnt move or say anything for a while before rolling over and facing away from him.  
  
"....maybe."  
  
Grizz's smile grew and he pulled Nom Nom closer to his chest.  
  
"... Isnt it disappointing, though..?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Knowing I'm not as good in real life."  
  
"Not as good....? You're better in person, are you kidding?"  
  
"I'm a jerk! You know I'm a jerk, I treated you like garbage! Why are y-"  
  
Grizz shushed him, pulling him close and letting him bury his face in his chest. After a few minutes, Nom Nom quited down.  
  
"Yeah, you were kind of a butt when we met. But now I know that you just needed practice. Ice actually let you in the house, so he clearly trusts you more now, too. You deserve friends who are willing to help you be a better person, and lucky for you, I'm here!"  
  
Nom Nom groaned and cuddled closer. "I deserve nothing... Not even my fans."  
  
"Shhhhhshshsh...."  
  
He kissed Nom Nom's forehead (which made Nom Nom a lot more flustered than he would admit) and pulled the blanket up around them.  
  
"You deserve to be happy on your own terms. If having fans makes you happy, you deserve them. If being around me and the guys makes you happy, you deserve us. If video games or cookies or eucalyptus soda makes you happy, you deserve that too!"  
  
Nom Nom wrapped his arms around Grizz's larger, fuzzier arm. "You're too good for me..."  
  
Grizz blushed, then yawned. "Funny, I was thinking the same thing about you.."  
  
They blushed together, quiet and close.  
  
Then they fell asleep.


End file.
